Skip to content
NZMigration Help
Call +64 22 112 1112

Residence

Skilled Migrant Category points explained

Six points, from one category only. Which category you use is the decision that determines whether you are eligible now or in two years.

The short answer

How many points do you need for the Skilled Migrant Category?

You need 6 skilled resident points for a Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa. Points come from one skill category only, either your qualification, a New Zealand occupational registration, or your income, and those three cannot be combined with each other. If your chosen category does not reach 6, you can add points from skilled work experience in New Zealand.

  • A New Zealand doctorate is worth 6 points. A New Zealand master’s degree is worth 6 with 30 weeks of full-time study in New Zealand and a bachelor’s degree, or 5 without.
  • A bachelor’s degree is worth 5 points if gained in New Zealand and 4 if gained overseas, so it never reaches 6 on its own.
  • You cannot claim any points for a non-degree qualification at level 7 or below.
  • Occupational registration is worth 3 to 6 points depending on how many years of training it requires.
  • Income points need 1.5, 2 or 3 times the SMC wage threshold, which is reviewed every year.

The rule that catches most people

You cannot mix skill categories. A bachelor's degree worth 4 points and an income worth 3 points does not make 7, or 6, or anything at all. It makes two separate claims of which you may use one.

The only thing that combines is skilled work experience in New Zealand, and it can only be added to the single category you are already using. That is why two people with identical CVs can be years apart on eligibility.

  • You need 6 skilled resident points to be eligible.
  • Points come from one skill category only: qualification, New Zealand occupational registration, or income. You cannot mix two skill categories.
  • If one category does not reach 6, you can add points from skilled work experience in New Zealand, and only from that.
  • You cannot claim points for a non-degree qualification at level 7 or below.
  • An international qualification generally needs an International Qualification Assessment from NZQA, unless it is on the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment.

Which category should you be looking at?

Work through them in this order, because it is the order in which they are usually decided for you rather than by you.

Qualification. Fastest to establish, because it is a document you already hold. A doctorate reaches 6 on its own. Most other qualifications do not, so the realistic question is how much New Zealand work experience you need to add.

Occupational registration. Only counts if your registration is on Immigration New Zealand's list of eligible New Zealand registrations. Registrations requiring more training are worth more, and a registration requiring six years reaches 6 on its own.

Income. Independent of what you studied, which makes it the route for people whose qualifications will not assess well. It needs a multiple of the SMC wage threshold, and because the threshold moves each year, so does the pay you need.

The wage threshold changes, and which one applies to you might not be the current one

The SMC wage threshold is based on the median wage and is updated annually. Current rate:

NZD $35.00 an hour from 9 March 2026The SMC wage threshold, Immigration New Zealand. Checked .

For ANZSCO skill levels 4, 5 and unlisted jobs, the figure that applies is 1.5 times that:

NZD $52.50 an hour from 9 March 2026The SMC wage threshold, Immigration New Zealand. Checked .

And to claim 6 points from income alone you need 3 times the threshold:

NZD $105.00 an hourSkilled Migrant Category Resident Visa, Immigration New Zealand. Checked .

The subtlety that costs people time: if you are claiming points from skilled work experience, the threshold that applies to you can be an earlier one, fixed at the point your qualifying work experience began. Immigration New Zealand publishes the full history of thresholds and worked examples on the SMC wage threshold page, and it is worth reading rather than assuming the current rate is yours.

What else has to be true

Points make you eligible to be invited. They are not the whole application. You also have to meet English language requirements, be in good health and of good character, and hold or have an offer of skilled employment that meets the wage threshold.

On health, note the timing trap: less than 3 months old source , so a medical obtained too early expires during processing.

The tables

What each qualification, registration and income level is worth

Read directly from Immigration New Zealand on 9 September 2026. Check the current version.

Points for a qualification gained in New Zealand
Qualification Points Bachelor's degree also required
Level 10 Doctoral Degree 6 No
Level 9 Master's Degree (30 weeks of full-time study) 6 Yes
Level 9 Master's Degree (not full-time study) 5 No
Level 8 Honours Degree, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate 5 Yes
Level 7 Bachelor's Degree 5 Not applicable
Points for a qualification gained outside New Zealand
Qualification Points Bachelor's degree also required
Level 10 Doctoral Degree 6 No
Level 9 Master's Degree 5 Yes
Level 8 Honours Degree, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate 4 Yes
Level 7 Bachelor's Degree 4 Not applicable
Points for a New Zealand occupational registration
Minimum years of experience or training required to register Points
6 years 6
5 years 5
4 years 4
2 years 3
Points for income from your New Zealand job or job offer
Pay rate requirement Points
3 times the SMC wage threshold or more 6
2 times the SMC wage threshold or more 4
1.5 times the SMC wage threshold or more 3
Additional points for skilled work experience in New Zealand
Skilled work experience in New Zealand Extra points
2 years 3
1.5 years 2
1 year 1

Added to one skill category, never used on its own. Immigration New Zealand states these as amounts of experience, with no window in the table itself. A separate rule limits how far back the experience can sit: the eligible timeframe is twice the experience you need, counted back from the date you submit your EOI when setting your wage threshold, and counted back from the date you apply for residence when counting the experience. The two dates are not the same, which is why you can keep gaining experience after submitting an EOI.

Worked through

Three common situations

  • Overseas bachelor’s degree, working here

    An overseas bachelor’s degree is worth 4 points, so it cannot reach 6 alone. Adding 2 years of skilled work experience in New Zealand is worth 3 more, which clears the threshold.

  • New Zealand master’s degree

    Worth 6 points on its own if you completed at least 30 weeks of full-time study here and hold a bachelor’s degree. Without both of those it drops to 5, and the gap has to come from New Zealand work experience.

  • Trade qualification, registered here

    A non-degree qualification at level 7 or below is worth nothing in the qualification category. If your registration is on the eligible list, registration is the category to use, worth 3 to 6 points depending on the training it required.

These are illustrations of how the tables combine, not advice about any particular person. Whether your own qualification assesses at the level you expect is a question for NZQA, and whether your work experience qualifies depends on the role and what it paid.

Questions

Common questions

How many points do you need for the Skilled Migrant Category?

You need 6 skilled resident points. Points come from one skill category only: your qualification, a New Zealand occupational registration, or your income. You cannot combine two skill categories, though you can add points from skilled work experience in New Zealand to whichever one you are using.

How many points is a master’s degree worth?

A New Zealand master’s degree is worth 6 points if you completed at least 30 weeks of full-time study in New Zealand and hold a bachelor’s degree, and 5 points otherwise. A master’s degree gained outside New Zealand is worth 5 points, and it also requires a bachelor’s degree. Those are Immigration New Zealand’s published figures as at the review date on this page.

How many points is a bachelor’s degree worth?

A New Zealand bachelor’s degree is worth 5 points. A bachelor’s degree from another country is worth 4 points. Neither reaches 6 on its own, so a bachelor’s degree alone means adding skilled work experience in New Zealand to become eligible.

Can you combine qualification points with income points?

No. Immigration New Zealand allows points from one skill category only. Qualification, occupational registration and income cannot be mixed with each other. The one thing you can add is skilled work experience in New Zealand, and only to the single category you are already using.

What if your qualification is from another country?

It generally needs an International Qualification Assessment from NZQA that recognises it on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework, unless it appears on the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment. That assessment is NZQA’s decision, not Immigration New Zealand’s, and it is worth obtaining before building a plan on a particular points total.

Do you get points for a diploma or certificate?

No. Immigration New Zealand states you cannot claim points for a non-degree qualification at level 7 or below. If your highest qualification is a diploma, the qualification category will not work for you, and occupational registration or income is likely to be the more realistic route.

What pay do you need to claim points from income?

Income points start at 1.5 times the SMC wage threshold for 3 points, 2 times for 4 points, and 3 times for 6 points. Because those are multiples of a threshold that is reviewed each year, the dollar figure changes. The current threshold and the current 3 times figure are both shown on this page with the date they were checked.

Where this comes from

Immigration New Zealand publishes the rules and can change them without notice. These are the pages this one is based on. If something here and something there disagree, Immigration New Zealand is right.

Licensed advice

Not sure which category gets you to six?

Which category applies, and whether your qualification will be assessed at the level you expect, turns on documents. A licensed adviser can look at yours and tell you where you actually stand.

In New Zealand it is a criminal offence to give immigration advice without a licence or an exemption. ProVisas holds IAA licence 201301110.

Talk to a licensed adviser +64 22 112 1112